The Night Angel Trilogy

I picked up this book on a whim and found a fantastic series of novels. The story follows Azoth a street kid in a very hard rough and tumble life, he witnesses a wetboy kill a group of thugs and from that point on he wants to be a wetboy. Wetboys are essentially assassins but better, assassins have targets, wetboys have deaders, because its not a question of if they will die, but when. Azoth views them as a figure of power and an escape to the horrible life he lives. So he pursues an apprenticeship with the best wetboy in the city Durzo Blint, and eventually gets him to take him in. But his life really doesn't get any easier, better perhaps, but much much harder.

This book series reminds me a lot of Warbreaker in terms of its writing, the story, and characters. The use of magic is sort of slowly slipped in there and even then it's not a huge aspect of a wetboys work, you need the talent to become a full fledged wetboy, but it only serves to accentuate not define. Interestingly enough I found the characters of Durzo Blint and Vasher to be incredibly similar. The sort of rough and tumble vagabond who, beneath his rough exterior, turns out to be something more, I even pictured them being played by the same actor (Vigo Mortenson)

The trilogy aspect helps avoid the issue I had with Warbreaker, in that it felt like it ended to early and it could have gone on longer. The books are always interesting, and don't overstay their welcome. I really couldn't stop reading them.

Fun side note, I couldn't find the last book in the series. But I happened to be going to the Book Bazaar with some friends. On a whim I figured I would see if they had it, being very dubious as it was a recent novel. Looked down, it was sitting right there. Happiest book finding moment for me ever.

Anansi Boys

To come once I finish reading it.

The Lord of the Rings

These books were my first real exposure to fantasy, my family read the Lord of the Rings to me when I was younger and I have loved the Discworld series ever since my mom suggested I read them. For me I love the sense of adventure and true exploration that the Lord of the Rings books bring. Going to far off lands, fighting monsters, a time that is at once more simple and much more complicated and terrifying. The worlds are lush and vibrant, the characters engaging and unique, and the fights exciting and harrowing. The only thing that can be said against them is their lengthy wordyness, by to me that's hardly an obstacle.
As for the Discworld series I think they are some of the funniest books I have read, from Guards, Guards! to Thud the books never stop making me laugh. The world is just ridiculous and rich, and I love the parody that Terry Pratchet creates. So on one side we have the perfect example of the fantasy adventure exploration novel, and other the other the perfect example of a book making fun of that world, while still being a wonderful read.

The J-Horror from below

J-Horror and ghost stories have always been interested in me, whether its the ghosts and apparitions in anime, or the more traditional stories like the ones in Kwaidan. The difference between Japanese and American horror are quite different and its really interesting to see the difference especially in the movies that have been taken from Japan and made American. Personally I like the Japanese versions better as I like the more creepy sort of horror rather than the more and more prevalent jump out and scare you horror. Watching Pulse I got a lot of hair raising moments and a general feeling of "oh what the fuck...". Pulse was a fantastic movie that I felt got less good as it went on, but that often happens once movies start to explain themselves. As for the Japanese horror stories, I never really much cared for the actual stories, as a lot of the tradition and that sort of sense is lost on me. But the ghosts and creatures have always interested me. This is what I like the most about these horror stories. With the creatures ranging so greatly over the areas of Japan the number of oddities is quite staggering, with their powers and appearances ranging from rather cute, to bizarre, to terrifying. The selection and imagination in the creation is what interests me the most.

Vampyr

One of the most ubiquitous horror creations out there, from The Cont on sesame street, to Count Chocula, to Nosferatu, and Edward Cullen, vampires span the scale in terms of all aspects. I liked the way that Interview with a Vampire portrayed them. Not necessarily bloodthirsty mindless monsters like in I Am Legend, and not pretty sissy boys as in Twilight, but somewhere in between. They care as demonstrated by Louis being distraught over Claudia's death, but can also be angry and mindless as demonstrated by Lestat and the Vampires in England. Vampires always seem to be a tricky thing to get right, at least for me. Stray to far to one side and they become hard to identify with or just seem to be monsters, and stray to far to the other side and you get whatever Twilight is, I don't really know what. However Interview with a Vampire falls nicely in the sweet spot and I can see why it is so highly regarded.

Warbreaker Peacegiver

Personally I loved this book, the story had several twists that left me genuinely surprised. The book had some basic fantasy conventions, the princess in distress, the vagabond who isn't as he seems, a kingdom torn apart from inside. The author did a marvelous job of manipulating my feelings toward characters, at first I really liked Denth, didn't see his betrayal coming, and then disliked him, where as I began to like the God King's Priests. I think that this is a wonderful work of fantasy and I really want to get into his other creations. The idea of the colors and breaths were really unique and reminded me of another series called the Night Angel Trilogy which I'll talk about in another post.